As you can perhaps tell by this report, beaches are surprisingly attractive criminal operations zones, and as such, X-COM has taken the liberty of possibly using surfers as a cover for possible X-COM operations in these areas. If possible, X-COM agents will be allowed to carry only what they can handle for these kinds of missions and as such, they will be in some very dangerous and hostile conditions. Yet it should be worth the risk.

Killed another giant beetle in the US state of Idaho, with very little else of note to be reported.

End Report

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TOP SECRETDate: 4 July, 1997Subject: Contact: Cult Arms Dealer

As noted by my Intelligence Officer, we've managed to locate a contact within the Cultists who can provide us with heavier weapons and other systems not available in the States, and as such, it is under my prerogative to use this contact to the best of our ability. If we can obtain these heavier weapons, then it is very likely we can secure more of these systems for future use.

X-COM agents managed to clear out an EXALT safehouse in just outside of México City, and during the fight, we managed to encounter another stash of Psiclone, though by then, both of our agents were injured. At the same time, an EXALT goon has been taken into custody, and will be interrogated as soon as possible.

End Report

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FOX News4 July, 1997EXALT Safehouse Raided by Méxican Police

Local authorities in México City earlier today had just announced that an EXALT safehouse was reportedly raided by a small group of officers. Two of said officers were injured during the engagement, while one likely high-ranking suspect was apprehended for further questioning. President Ernesto Zedillo is scheduled to make an announcement regarding the recent EXALT crackdown tomorrow morning, just one day short of the scheduled UN emergency session.

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Re: QBU-88 Acquisition Request - X-COM: GIB

Commander,

The Council has reviewed your request and has accepted the request for your acquisition of the QBU-88 designated marksman rifle. Norinco has already begun shipment to official UN motor pools for future acquisition at the request of the Chinese government. We expect your agents to become accustomed to this rifle.

Good luck, Commander. We hope that you are met with...continued success.

President Zedillo announced earlier today that law enforcement agencies have been ordered to crack down on EXALT and their Psiclone distribution network and make it their top priority. With this announcement, it is likely that the government will make further drug use, particularly the use of psiclone, a top priority as the days pass by, especially with the emergency session of the UN General Assembly scheduled for tomorrow morning.

The UN General Assembly has just passed a resolution calling for the "cooperation of all nations to crack down on terrorism across the world", with some members of the General Assembly even calling for the creation of a "UN-led task force to crack down on global terrorism". As more and more reports of supposed alien and monster-related activity plague the world, there is a growing public sentiment that alien forces could be at play, despite attempts by governments to disprove these conspiracy theories.

It would appear that the drug known as psiclone appears to have an extremely potent psychoactive effect, with users reporting heightened reflexes and morale. However, it also severely alters the victim's mind, making them experience some...rather complex hallucinations. The interrogated EXALT members claim that the hallucinations are genuinely psychic activity, since it heightens one's mental abilities, and enables humans to "tune in" to alien telepathic signals like the ones we witnessed in Budapest, albeit erratically.

We should take every measure necessary to crack down on the distribution, sales and production of this drug, as it may be related to the alien threat Earth could face.

X-COM agents managed to intervene in a zombie outbreak in Spain, and managed to clear the area of hostiles. One civilian was killed in the operation, while another has been allowed by our agents to leave. On that note, we should point out that we managed to capture a zombie boomer corpse, which at this point, should be studied further to gain insights into the zombie threat.

We also managed to test our recently supplied QBU-88 rifles, and they have proven to be, though difficult to use for aiming, quite deadly.

Reports of a zombie outbreak near Barcelona earlier today were denied by the Spanish government as "conspiratorial ramblings" despite claims by a supposed eyewitness that a zombie outbreak has occurred near her home town, and subsequent claims that unidentified "secret agent-looking gunmen" had cleared the outbreak. However, the European Union has decided to conduct an independent investigation of the reports to verify their validity, citing the "increased" frequency of the so-called "zombie outbreak" reports and will have results ready by early next year.

Giant spiders tend to be very solitary hunters, but are easily capable of being social creatures during mating season. They are as fast and deadly as regular hunting spiders, and are clever enough to prey on common animals like pigs, large snakes or tapirs. They seem to have fire as a weak point and the same would apply to smoke due to their energy requirements.

On that note, we should begin to acquire additional agricultural flamers specifically to deal with these kinds of creatures. Perhaps that would make it faster to kill them.

X-COM agents managed to investigate an industrial complex in Houston, where a Dagonist cell was eliminated by our agents. At this time, there are no survivors of the cell in Houston remaining; all suspects are dead. Other than this, very little of note can be said.

End Report

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CBS News9 July, 1997Shootout Reported in Houston Industrial Park

Police reports have just arrived detailing what appears to be a brutal firefight between unidentified gunmen disguised as workers, as well as what appeared to be several mysterious individuals. One of the bodies was identified as being consistent with a member of the Church of Dagon, which has been designated a terrorist group by various European and African states, such as Ukraine and Mali. Police officials can confirm that one of the suspects had been planning a bombing in the city according to plans recovered from one of the bodies. As a result, the state government has called for a "War on Terrorism" against the Church of Dagon and the criminal group known as EXALT, with both parties having mixed opinions on the issue. President Clinton is expected to address the nation by the end of the month in light of recent events from around the world and the rise in the popularity of conspiracy theories regarding "alien" involvement.

We've just finished interrogation a so-called "Chosen of Dagon", as the suspect proclaims himself to be, and although similar in appearance to the Priests and Disciples of Dagon, they appear to have no special role other than as examples of the faith. In captivity, the suspect seemed to be in a meditative trace of some kind, which causes small changes in the body, such as finger-webbing or scale-like growths. These changes recede after the trace is broken, which means that we should begin investigating what this "Dagon" entity is, as mentioned in an earlier report.

The Chosen of Dagon seems to have mentioned an individual known as Antonio Bianchi, during the interrogation. Here are the details on his dossier so far:

He is a cybercriminal who does not shy away from people, but rather uses them as his own tools. He is an expert in finding unsuspecting victims, most notably impressionable women. He is also rumoured to regularly offer human sacrifices to Dagon, which is a cause for concern. Interpol has already been notified as to his activities, as it is likely that the women the dossier has mentioned were likely the human sacrifices to Dagon he offered.

In a rather surprising turn of events for our agents, X-COM had been notified by a joint Russo-American recon team of a Red Dawn outpost in the Arctic. Our agents were deployed as quickly as possible into the area, managing to subdue three (possibly) high-ranking Red Dawn members of various types, though it should be noted that Agent Ilieva was killed in the engagement trying to provide shotgun cover for the remaining three agents, all of which are already significantly injured. They could be injured for at least anywhere from a week to a month, depending on the severity of their injuries.

As for the captured suspects, we should interrogate them as soon as possible to learn more about Red Dawn; we haven't seen their faces in a while...

The US Department of Defense has just announced that a joint US Navy SEALs-Spetsnaz operation into the Arctic had just been conducted against an unknown compound in the Arctic Circle. According to US Secretary of Defense William Cohen, the operation had been "mostly successful", mentioning that although three terrorists were apprehended, a Russian Spetsnaz soldier was killed in the engagement, while three US Navy SEALs were injured in the ensuing firefight. The Russian government has already sent their condolences to the soldier's family. With the international community facing a rising threat in global terrorist activity, coupled with reports of supposed alien and monster sightings, experts beli-.

Wait. Hold on.

This just in. We've just received word of a bombing in St. Petersburg. We will update you live as this story unfolds.

An organisation calling itself "Red Dawn" has just claimed responsibility for a bombing in St. Petersburg just five hours ago, following an announcement by the US and Russian governments of a joint operation against a compound in the Arctic. This just comes to light as a result of recent events ongoing around the world regarding increasing terrorist activity and reports of "alien" and "monster" sightings. President Boris Yeltsin will have an announcement due at the end of the month.

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Red Dawn International Broadcast12 July, 1997A Victory for the Worker's Revolution in Leningrad!

To the capitalist oppressors of the Earth, to those who would stand behind the cover of deceit and lies, we have news for you! Today, a victory for the proletariat has been achieved in the city you call St. Petersburg. Many of you remember back when this was known as Leningrad; the birthplace of the Worker's Revolution and now the birthplace of a new Red Dawn! Do not believe the lies and deceit the capitalist powers of the Earth and the revisionist traitors tell you! We are the voice of the worker and we speak the truth! WE WILL NOT BOW TO CAPITALISM!!

This creature is far bigger than anything that is theoretically possible on Earth, just like the other creatures. It seems that it is protected by a tough carapace that can sustain pistol rounds and even grenade blasts. Extreme caution against this creature is advised in the field, though that would seem obvious by now.

End Report

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TOP SECRETDate: 13 July, 1997Subject: Case 036 After Action Report

We managed to locate a Reaper in the Tanzanian interior, who managed to butcher a civilian before we were able to eliminate it with explosives; it would appear that we would need heavier weapons to carry for the agents in this mission, considering the Reaper managed to sustain a significant amount of rounds. Although a live specimen is currently being studied at X-COM HQ, I should note that an autopsy would also be an option for the dead Reaper we currently have.

The Council has reviewed your summary report from last month and has granted you additional authority. You will henceforth no longer be known as X-COM: General Investigation Bureau, but as X-COM: Paranormal Activity Unit. We expect you to perform as dutifully as you have done throughout the past 6 months.

Good luck, Commander. We hope that your future efforts bring you further success.

X-COM agents managed to respond to a report that Red Dawn suspects were preparing to meet in Switzerland and were attempting to gather information about the whereabouts of X-COM HQ. Thankfully for us, our agents arrived just in time to stop them from meeting a contact that could have easily provided them with information about our operations and as a result, could have easily resulted in an attack on X-COM HQ. After a fierce fight, X-COM agents were able to defeat the Red Dawn terrorists (although Agent Dahonen is injured for the next two weeks) before the Swiss authorities could arrive on the scene. It should be noted that X-COM will be taking a very keen interest in stopping future Red Dawn operations.

A shootout had been reported earlier today by ski resort guests between unidentified armed gunmen and what were reported to be Red Dawn terrorists in what police claim was likely a planned meeting to deal with a future terror attack in Geneva. The shootout came just two days after the bombing in St. Petersburg, during which 12 people were killed, and 130 were injured. With an ever-increasing terrorist threat, the local authorities have ordered the closure of the resort to conduct a thorough investigation as to the affiliations and whereabouts of the unidentified gunmen.